Friday, May 25, 2001
Friday, May 25, 2001 |
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Access road to Wynnmeade off MacDuff to help traffic; two Summit buildings OK'd By JOHN
MUNFORD
The Peachtree City Council has agreed to allow Summit Apartments to open two more of its buildings off MacDuff Parkway despite the mounting traffic problems caused by delays in relocating a traffic signal at MacDuff and Ga. Highway 54 West. To help alleviate those problems, the city has agreed to open an access road to the Wynnmeade subdivision off MacDuff so motorists will have easier access to the stoplight at the Wynnmeade entrance. Before that can happen, a utility pole that poses a hazard to vehicles must be relocated, said Jim Williams, the city's director of developmental services. Doug McMurrain of RAM Development, a company responsible for the traffic light relocation, said he was willing to erect traffic calming devices in the Wynnmeade subdivision, and place signs warning motorists to slow due to the presence of children. A new deadline for relocating the traffic light has been set for July 17. Currently, MacDuff motorists have been turning west on 54 and turning around at the entrance to Wynnmeade during periods of heavy traffic. That signal is the one which will be relocated under a development agreement between the city and developers in the area including Ravin Homes (the Cedarcroft developer) and RAM Development (a commercial developer). However, the relocation has been delayed several months. Under the development agreement, none of the buildings in the Summit Apartments or the Cedarcroft subdivision were to receive certificates of occupancy until the light was operational at MacDuff Parkway. Previously, city officials approved certificates of occupancy for three buildings at Summit despite the lack of the traffic signal. At last week's council meeting, a Summit representative asked for certificates of occupancy at several more buildings to prevent the company from losing money on the project. The two buildings approved by council will have approximately 32 units each. But the buildings cannot open until they have been through the normal building inspection process, Williams noted. Summit representative Robert Trujillo said 95 units have been leased so far at the apartments, but the lack of a traffic light is not Summit's fault. "We are losing ($1,000-$1,400 in rent per unit) every month, every day," Trujillo said. "The risk of this going beyond July 17 is extremely minimal. We'd be out of business by then." Summit officials will become more involved in the relocation process to insure it's completed by the deadline of July 17, Trujillo said. "I'm kind of a bit peeved that we have to put up with a less than perfect situation there," said Mayor Bob Lenox. "Anytime you try to turn left coming into Peachtree City, it's a problem," said Police Chief James Murray. The chief added that he did not see the lack of the signal as a significant public safety problem. McMurrain said the delay has been on the part of the Georgia Department of Transportation because of the time it has taken to approve the permit to move the light. "Those permits have been on file for well over a year," said RAM attorney Doug Dillard, who questioned whether the city had the legal rights to deny the certificates of occupancy for the unopened Summit buildings. The first three buildings approved for occupancy back in January were done based on estimates that the traffic light would have been relocated by now, Williams pointed out. Wynnmeade resident John Dillahunt said he didn't oppose using the MacDuff-Wynnmeade connector for traffic from MacDuff as long as the utility pole is relocated. "I see no big problem," he said.
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